The Focus, Goals, and the AONE Competencies
Leadership is one of the most critical aspects of nursing education and the intense healthcare environment in general. The success of any organization is highly dependent on the proper development of leadership and training healthcare providers as servant leaders. A medical field unites workers with different personalities, ethical considerations, and moral philosophies. Therefore, one must be able to encourage a diverse group of workers in achieving the organization’s mission and vision in order to become effective leaders. The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) designed competencies for nurse executives within five leadership domains. The intersecting points include “communication and relationship management, professionalism, knowledge of health care environment, business skills and principles, as well as leadership” (Patterson & Krouse, 2015, p. 76). Altogether, they are targeted at creating and maintaining a dynamic and sustainable organizational environment through effective leadership education.
After examining personal strengths and weaknesses before starting this course in the context of achieving targeted goals, there was an evident need for improvement. To be more specific, my strong points referred to the areas of team performance management and resource management, however, there was still a potential to enhance. Concerning my weaknesses, they implied both financial and technical skills. Thus, I aimed at advancing several critical points based on such the analysis of personal and professional qualities. Following the completion of the leadership project, I noticed a significant growth in all areas, particularly in the financial sector. Although, I still need to work on my technical expertise, notwithstanding some tangible improvements. The practicing of active listening and communication with others promoted a strong relationship with both the team and interdisciplinary team, which was beneficial in developing a plan, executing change, and completing the work. Nevertheless, I will continue to use an assessment tool and theories to evaluate my weakest areas and, thus, expand my knowledge and strengthen my professional growth.
The Need for the Project and its Alignment with the Organization’s Mission
My leadership project investigated the nursing experience and expertise in caring for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Following the ideas of Kennedy & Moen (2017), nurses are fundamental for shaping and leading the future of the “dynamic, integrated, patient-centric healthcare system” (p. 198). The hospital unit for rehab was experiencing a shortage of nurses and other disciplines working with the TBI. It lacked the required knowledge in caring for these patients, such as those exhibiting abnormal behaviors. Furthermore, hiring certified TBI nurses was a time-consuming and costly perspective.
However, nurses who were already overloaded with existing duties were not trained to cope with such behaviors and, therefore, faced challenges due to insufficient knowledge of TBI and stroke. This also contributed to additional stress for nurses were responsible for navigating between their tasks and monitoring patients. As such, the implementation of the project is supposed to align with the organization’s mission to reduce hospitalization length of stay, improve quality of life, and reduce stress patterns. The aimed outcomes imply creating a cohesive work environment, where the staff is empowered with a spirit of goodwill, accomplishment, and support by their leading preceptors.
Potential Barriers throughout the Project
Based on the results of conducted interviews and careful assessment, the medical staff demonstrated the lack of adequate knowledge about caring for the patients with traumatic brain injury. My practicum mentor, a nurse manager, sent out an email to the personnel, together with the manager of the rehab department and the medical manager of the unit. We aimed at inviting the colleagues to participate in education and obtain a certification at the end of the training. The medical personnel was divided into small groups, or arranged individually, to explain the benefit of studying this issue. It is important to note that all the required materials were provided at no charge.
As a result, I was able to engage more than 90% of the staff to sign in to the project. However, the training of the nursing group was postponed two weeks after the beginning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, my mentor showcased genuine leadership qualities by continuing education through phone conferences and facetime periods. In addition, the medical perceptions of the injury intensity were inadequate for developing a proper care plan and training. Hence, the project included the evaluation of patient performance on several neuropsychological, cognitive, and motor assessments that were applied in designing and managing the patients’ care training.
Measurement of the Outcomes
The goal of my project was to provide comprehensive services for the healthcare organization through the trained interdisciplinary team. This would improve the recovery of stroke patients from the physical, cognitive, spiritual, and psychological impairments caused by this medical condition. Moreover, it would prevent secondary complications and help the patients to return to their state of wellbeing before the hospitalization and provide them with the best quality of life possible. After the completion of the project, the participants took a test and showed significantly improved results by successfully gaining the 80% pass mark. The program facilitators certified the staff members as traumatic brain injury/stroke health practitioners. The personnel gained valuable knowledge concerning the experience with TBI/stroke patients.
Evaluation of the Project’s Success
My leadership project emphasizes the vital role that nurses play in caring for patients with moderate-to-severe TBIs throughout acute and non-acute care. Nurse practitioners are the core element of the interdisciplinary team who perform a number of responsibilities aimed at promoting patients’ therapy and fast recovery. As described by Oyesanya, Thomas, Brown & Turkstra (2016), these duties are reliant on the “severity of the patient’s injuries and their time since the injury” (p. 1116). As such, nurses have to able to adjust their plan of care according to the patients’ changing conditions, which have a higher possibility to emerge when assisting patients with acute, new-onset moderate-to-severe TBI. The project was based upon the critical gaps in clinical policies concerning the evidence-based nursing patient control with TBI and stroke.
Developing new models of care within clinical practice, as well as focusing on the highly complicated cases that lack sufficient knowledge, is vital for providing the best quality care for the patients. The success of the project implies the improvement of inaccurate beliefs of the medical staff regarding caring for the patients with the traumatic brain injury and stroke. Considering the misconceptions about caring for patients with TBI, it was essential to examine the beliefs and perceptions of the staff to achieve efficient training and education for those who care for such patients. Most importantly, nurses usually learn from each other’s experience during their practice and, thus, this training project aimed at preventing the exchange of inaccurate information. Although, the main emphasis lies on the value of leadership competencies within a practice that to articulate and facilitate a vision for nursing education.
References
Kennedy, M. A., & Moen, A. (2017). Nurse leadership and informatics competencies: Shaping transformation of professional practice. In J. Murphy, W. Goossen, & P. Weber (Eds.), Forecasting informatics competencies for nurses in the future of connected health: proceedings of the nursing informatics post conference 2016 (pp. 197–206). IOS Press.
Oyesanya, T. O., Thomas, M. A., Brown, R. L., & Turkstra, L. S. (2016). Nurses’ beliefs about caring for patients with traumatic brain injury. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 38(9), 1114–1138.
Patterson, B. J., & Krouse, A. M. (2015). Competencies for leaders in nursing education. Nursing Education Perspectives, 36(2), 76–82.